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A Joseph Campbell Teaching

 



Joseph Campbell - author of The Masks of God, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live by - asked his followers, 'What did you do as a child that made you forget time? There lies the myth to live by.'


I'm on a mission - sixty next birthday, my Second Saturn Return in the offing, never been truly happy.

I'm overhauling my mindset.

(Someone needs to make the cake for my sixtieth, please, I'm swamped.)

Anyway, re my mindset. First, I quiet my mind with the following grounding technique. Always useful, I find. Let me know in the comments if it's useful to you. We're all in this together, after all.

Find five things to look at, meanwhile naming them. Then four things you can hear, three you can touch, two you can smell, one you can taste. I do this grounding technique in tandem with my ten thousand steps. Having no clue what breed of tree I'm looking at ever, I tend to name them, a 'Lacks the last degree of festive vibe to be a holly' tree; or a 'Could easily be in Robin Hood film' tree; or the 'Not up to very much, frankly, could do better' tree. I've heard a lot of crows, diesel engines, bird noise and bike bells warning me I'm walking on the wrong side of the pavement again. I've touched my sleeve, gorse, and the railings above basement areas. I've sniffed at my sleeve and at daffodils. And I supplement my diet with cherry blossom, evergreen leaves and the lickings from a GR pillar box.


I continue on with breathing. Inhale for four slow counts, hold for two, exhale for six. This stimulates the vagus nerve. While I'm counting, I massage my earlobes - which also stimulates the vagus nerve.


Next I speak affirmations aloud. 

'All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.' Julian of Norwich. Appropriate, as I'm currently living in Norwich.

'I trust…I trust…I trust…'

'All is well. Everything is working out for my highest good. Out of this situation only good will come. I am safe.' Louise Hay.


The above constitutes my first step on this journey to a happier life. I have lot to rewire. To answer Joseph Campbell - what I did as a child to lose any sense of time was: I sang "Doll on a Music Box" - Truly Scrumptious' number from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. With all the actions. I see this as being the possible forerunner to my character comedy creation, Madame Galina Ballet Star Galactica: a hugely positive force in my life.

However, less positive would have been the hours I spent as a child playing submarine disasters in the downstairs area with Robert and Michael Martin from next door.

There are some life-coaches-cum-wannabe-psychologists out there who say I could simply uproot this memory and instead make believe I played other games with Robert and Michael.

Nah.


Actually, second thought…

Given the splashing/thrashing about in water aspect of the game, I could reimagine myself as champion swimmer turned Hollywood star Esther Williams. Robert and Michael could be Red Skelton and Ricardo Montalban. All appearing in the 1949 rom-com Neptune's Daughter.

For all sorts of reasons a better choice, I'd say, than Dangerous When Wet.


In fine, I say let's all recreate ourselves in more positive images.

What have we to lose? 

Other than (in my case specifically) a panicked inability to breach the surface and open that escape hatch.



#josephcampbell#heroesjourney#mindset#mind#positivity#change#childhood#josephcampbellquotes#publicspeaker#afterdinnerspeaker#talks 


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